My parents are comfortably in the middle-left, as far as I can tell. We haven’t discussed politics much - mostly because I try to avoid it at family gatherings because I vehemently disagree with my sister.
I was more to the right when I was younger, but now I firmly straddle the fence, migrating to the left. I expect a pendulum effect over the course of my life.
I identify myself as a Libertarian (socially liberal, economically conservative) but I tend to side more to the Republican party in practice. The reason is simple. All the debates about abortion, gay rights, and other social issues never actually go anywhere in practice. Important fiscal decisions get made all of the time.
Honestly? I’m a Liberal with a capital L and I see quite a lot of conservatives on this board.
I’d say most people fall in the center. You have a nice mix here.
I find the SDMB to be more to the right. Perhaps that is because I find the USA to be more to the right.
Hmm. I was recently thinking that the board contains a lot of ultra right wingers. But maybe that depends on when & what I click upon.
I think the board is a little to the left, but that is also a function of the demographics - younger people tend to be more liberal than older ones. (remember the Churchill quote?) There are conservatives, and libertarians on the board too. Also consider that liberals are more change oriented. You have to effect change. If you let things stand as is, that is the more conservative viewpoint. (US generalization) Even Democrat/Republican isn’t an good telling point, as many southern Dems are more conservative than northern Reps.
More than anything, though, I think most of the Dopers are more open minded than most, deciding issues on their own, rather than how any party they are affiliated with views it. Maybe 80% of the time someone agrees with the GOP platform - they register Republican. Then they inform their Congressman they favor gun control. I personally despise people who consistently vote party-line without investigating issues.
Oh, and on the parental issue, I am between my parents politically, left of my father, right of my mother. I’d say I was Republican (though not conservative) with an eye on some Libertarian positions.
The OP reflects the typically skewed political spectrum of the United States. In other countries, what is considered moderately conservative (like Bill Clinton) is oh-so flaming liberal! What is considered middle-of-the-road in American politics is equivalent to hard right wing elsewhere. Americans have almost no on representing a real Left. Senator Paul Wellstone and Congressmen Bernie Sanders or Charles Rangell form the ultra-Left in Congres, but they’d be moderate liberals in Europe.
I consider myself to be a moderate liberal on most issues, but that places me far outside the pale of right-wing-dominated America.
I will say this: while there is an interesting mix of liberals, conservatives, libertarians and others on this board, and while there is lively discourse about opposing viewpoints…
The social climate is a lot nicer in here than on some other boards I could mention…
:eek
Left wing? Right wing?
No, like Pat Paulsen, I’m more middle-of-the-bird.
I think the Mojo knocked that one out of the park. McCarthy and Reagan permanently shifted the American political landscape in such a way that a good Republican (in practice, not preaching) like Clinton is branded as something other than what he really was. Heck, I consider myself very liberal, but I also oppose gun control among other things considered conservative.
But since I’m right and they’re wrong, I’ll go still further and offer some other speculation. There appear to be some basic, fundamental differences between conservatives and liberals. Leadership versus consensus. Majority rule versus minority rights. Favoratism versus redistribution. Labeling versus… no, I’d better stop now before I completely expose my own hypocrisy.
This place, an Internet message board with a fairly specific mission (fighting ignorance), is constructed in such a way that anyone who cares to participate (within reasonable limits) has a voice, but that voice can and will be questioned if it fails to make logical sense.
Because conservatives are so tightly unified under threat of expulsion, they must also bear the burdens of those who purport to represent them, the Rushes and Jerries and Pats, some of whom base their arguments upon fallacious premises. In part because of the differences I listed above, liberals are not nearly so tarnished by our Carvilles and Sofa Kings. It is understood that liberals are more loosely bound and are therefore permitted to disagree amongst themselves.
Conservatives also have their own message board, the Free Republic, where their logic and information goes unquestioned, and where the minority voice is carefully edited out or loudly shouted down. I suspect that many an aspiring SDMB debater has moved on to those more mastubatory pastures.
Because liberals are smarter than conservatives, and the SDMB attracts smart people? 
(There’s a thread in the archives on this, but I’m too lazy to dig it up. I’m sure it’ll rile some folks, though…)
Well, that’s not too bad, I guess. We made it to the 30th post before we got to the smart-ass “because liberals are smarter” post, as I had mentioned in the original post.
Still, some good answers. I had originally meant “socially liberal” as opposed to economically or otherwise. Thanks for all the input.
For the record, I went to college as a middle-of-the-road kind of guy, but came out much more conservative, as I was able to see the absurd extremes of the liberals at my particular college. I know, the same could be said for conservatives, but in my experience, I found myself moving more and more to the right.
Please note that “college liberals” form (generally) the extreme left wing of American liberalism. Most of them have never experienced economic reality. And even most liberals move to the right on some issues after college.
Well, speaking conservatively, that’s a liberal helping of crap.
I’ve known plenty of little old ladies in tennis shoes that out-liberal most students I went to college with.
Liberal thought isn’t some phase that you grow out of. Or do you want to us to believe that only jobs with a comfortable salary create conservatives?
“Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth.”
–Socrates
I like several takes on the question, especially lurker’s.
I have to say, though, that I’m surprised that the answer that immediately popped into my mind hasn’t been stated outright.
We Dopers are, on the whole, an intelligent lot. I think intelligent people spend a lot more time questioning “facts” than the norm. After all, questions are intelligence’s bread and butter.
Questioning societal/social mores is never a bad thing. The answers you come up with are what shape who you are, whether it be “liberal” “conservative” or “Mickey Mouse”.
So, long way 'round, if we are more liberal, which I don’t automatically buy, it’s probably because we believe in things, not because we’re supposed to or were told to, but because we have decided to and with good reason.
Well, now that the ice has been broken…
I do love this John Stuart Mill t-shirt 
I don’t appreciate your language.
If you think American colleges AREN’T bastions of liberalism, then you are sadly mistaken.
I never suggested one “grows out of” liberalism. Rather, I would argue that liberal college students are more left-wing (on average? as a group?) than say, 50 year olds. As we age and gain life experience we modify our views on certain issues. And simply changing from a student to an employee (well paid or NOT) brings home more realities. To conservatives as well as liberals. Age typically brings moderation.
I know LOTS of poor conservatives. And plenty of well-off liberals.
Personally, I think a lot of people want to see themselves as the lone voice of reason in a world of oppression and irrationality. It gives them a feeling of enlightened nobility and lets them feel like martyrs for whatever their particular cause is. As a result, they tune out neutral or agreeing posts and only notice the ones that conflict with their opinions. This creates the impression that the entire SDMB is made up of conservatives, liberals, atheists, christians, etc.
One of the best examples is the frequent Pit rant “if someone criticized X, they’d be flamed to the ground, but people can slam [my pet cause] without ever being questioned!”
I’m a moderate, and I think everyone here is an extremist nutcase.